UT Students Learn Film Production with City TV

Published: Feb 11, 2009

During his time at The University of Tampa, Martin Kandra, a film
student visiting from the University of Westminster in London, has
produced short films and has worked as an intern for NBC’s “Today Show.”

But it is in an internship with City of Tampa Television
(CTTV), which he found through UT’s communication department, that he is
learning the most.

“Here, I’m using everything I’ve learned in
class over eight hours a day,” Kandra said. “It’s a much better way to
learn than in a two-hour class.”

Kandra, along with UT students
Lauren Martinez and Hilal Ozkaya, helped produce the February episode of
“The Mayor’s Hour,” which spotlighted one of the city of Tampa’s most
transformative construction projects.

“The Mayor’s Hour” can be
viewed throughout on CTTV, channel 15 on Verizon FiOS and Channel 615 on
Bright House Networks. The show airs Sunday at 1 p.m., Monday at 7
p.m., Tuesday at noon, Wednesday at 9 p.m., Friday at 3 p.m. and
Saturday at noon.

The episode, which features interviews with
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, documents the expansion of the riverfront at
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The park is home to the new Tampa Museum
of Art and the Glazer Children’s Museum, both under construction.

“There
were a lot of important people being featured on the show,” Kandra
said. “So there was a lot of setting up scenes so they don’t have to
wait around to be interviewed.”

On this production, the interns
worked on aspects of scene set-up, lighting and design, arranging
interviews with the mayor at five separate locations throughout the
construction site.

It is a hands-on experience akin to working
on a live TV production, as each scene must be filmed in a timely manner
to keep with the mayor’s schedule.

Other CTTV projects give the
interns the opportunity to master all aspects of film production
including editing, voice over, and news writing, earning them UT
academic credit in the process.

The internship even offers students the chance to do on-camera reporting on city news and events.

“It’s
a win-win situation either way,” Martinez said. “It’s not the kind of
internship where you’re just getting coffee for people.”